Territory



J. M. BROWNING. MAGAZINE PIRBARM.

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w S I 2. .fu e e h s e nv h. s. 3 QM. R mu. .,NR WT.. Our. Rm Bm LGA MATWM n d O M O m No. 545,671. APatented Sept. 3, 1895.

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No. 545,671. Patented Sept. 3, 1895.

lNrfrnD 'STATES- PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN M. BROWNING, OF OGDEN, UTAH TERRITORY, ASSIGNOR TO THEIVINOI-IESTER REPEATING ARMS COMPANY, OF NEW HAVEN, C ON- NEOTICU T.

MAGAZINE-FIREARM.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 545,671, datedSeptember 3, 1895.

. Application filed April 29, 1895. SerialN0.5/17,518 (No model.) v

To @ZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JOHN M. BROWNING, of Ogden, in the county of Weber,Utah Territory, have invented a new Improvement in Breech-Loadin gMagazine-Firearms and I do hereby declare the following, when taken inconnection with the accompanying drawings and the letters of referencemarked thereon, to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same,and said drawings constitute part of this specification, and represent,in-

Figure l, a view partly in elevation and partly in vertical section ofone form which a gun constructed in accordance with my invention mayassume, the action mechanism being represented as in the closed positionof the arm; Fig. 2, a similar but less comprehensive view showing thearm open with the carrier in the position in which it forms a carftridge-stop; Fig. 3, a broken reverse plan view, partly in section,showing the construction for the connection with the frame of the coveror plate which closes the bottom of the chamber therein; Fig. 4, abrokenview in horizontal section showing a portion of the frame and therear end of the plate with the locking-lugs thereof inserted into therecoil-` block grooves of the frame preparatory to being shoved forwardinto the locking-grooves thereof; Fig. 5, a broken View in verticaltransverse section on the line a b of Fig. 4, and showing the rear endof the cover or plate in rear elevation; Fig. 6, a detached view, inside elevation, of the cover or plate; Fig. 7, a broken view, partly inhorizontal section and partly in plan, showing the pivotal carrier andthe finger-lever with the projection or pin of the lever engaged withthe beveled inner edge of the cam of the carrier preparatory tospringing the elastic member of the carrier aside to provide for therearward passage of the pin or projection of the lever beyond the end ofthe carrier; Fig. 8, a detached view, in side elevation, of the carrier;Fig. 9, a detached plan View thereof; Fig. l0, a view of the carrier incentral longitudinal section on the line a b of Fig. 9; Fig. 11, adetached View in front elevation of the recoilblock; Fig. 12, a planview of the inner end of the operating or finger lever.

My invention relates to an improvement in breech-loadingmagazine-firearms, the object being to produce a comparatively simple,compact, strong, durable, and eective arm, constructed withparticularreference to the positive operation of its action mechanism and toconvenience of assemblance and dismemberment.

With these ends in view my invention consists in the combination, with abifurcated carrier constructed upon the inner face and at the rear endof one of its legs with a cam, of a nger-levervprovided near its upperend with a pin or projection to coact with said cam.

My invention further consists in the combination, with a pivotalcarrier, of averticallymovable recoil-block, one of the said partshaving an operating-notch and the other a toe adapted to enter the saidnotch, whereby the recoil-block in the beginning'of its downwardmovement lifts the pivotal carrier into position to form acartridge-stop.

My invention further consists in the combination, with a chamberedframe, of a cover or plate adapted to close the lower end of the chambertherein, and constructed at its rear end with two outwardly-projectingcorresponding locking-lugs, which take into horizontal locking-groovesformed in the opposite Walls of the frame and at their rear endsintersecting vertical grooves formed in the frame for the reception ofthe edges of the recoil-block.

My invention further consists in certain details of construction andcombinations of parts, as will be hereinafter described, and pointed outin the claims.

In carrying out my invent-ion, as herein shown, the rear end of thebifurcated carrier (detail views of which are shown in Figs. 8, 9, andlO) is cut into, so that the carrier is virtually composed of two longlegs or members A and A', separated at their rear ends, and joined attheir forward ends by a transverse tie or web A2. is laterally elastic,and is capable of being sprung away from the leg A. A cam A3 is locatedupon the inner face of the extreme rear end of the leg A of the carrierand constructed with abeveled forward edge a, with The said leg A of thecarrier ICQ a curved lifting edge a and a straight sustaining-edge a2.The carrier is pivotally mounted in the frame B of the arm by means oftwo horizontally-arranged screw-pivots C C, located directly oppositeeach other and extending horizontally inward and entering pivot-openingsformed in lugs A4 A5, respectively, formed at the rear ends of thetwo'legs A and A of the carrier.

By reference to Fig. 7 of the drawings it will be seen that the innerend of the screwpivot C is longer than the inner end of the screw-pivotC', the object being to provide for the play of the leg A in theoperation of the arm, as willbe described hereinafter, and for thefurther accommodation of the leg A in springing back and forth thepivot-opening provided in itslug A4 for the reception of the inner endof the screw-pivot C is made large enough to permit the deflections ofthe leg A;Y It will be also seen by reference to Fig. 7 of the drawingsthat the leg A of the carrier bears against the left-hand wall of theframe B and is vprevented from-springing ou'tward thereby, while it isprevented from springing inward by the engagement with its inner face ofthe inner end of the inger'or operating lever D, which, on the otherhand,

does not engage directly with the inner face of the leg A of thecarrier, the outer face of the said leg A being cut away, as at A6, to`

clear it from the inner face of the right-hand wall of the frame B andtolgive it space in which to spring. j

The cam A3, before mentioned, coacts with a pin D', arrangedhorizontally and projecting to the rightv from the inner end of thelever D, as shown, for instance, in Figs. 7 and l2 of the drawings.Theparticular form of this pin may be varied,'and, if preferred, itmaybe made integral with the lever, in which case it would be moreproperly described as a projection therefrom. When the gun -is closedthe pinor projection D will have the position shown in Fig. 1, and whenthe lever is thrown downward and forward in opening the gun theprojection D will be brought into engagement with the beveled edge a vofthe cam A3 of the carrier, which has by this time been lifted into theposition shown in Fig. 2, in which it forms a cartridge-stop. Theforward movement of the lower end of I the operating-lever D beingcontin ued, its upper end is moved backward, causing the pin D toimpinge against the beveled edge a and spring the leg A of the carrieroutward into the position shown by broken lines in Fig. 7, whereby spaceis secured for the rearward passage of the pin beyond the eXtreme rearend of the carrier, the pin moving over the face of the camsubstantially on the broken line d3 of Fig. 10, and assumingsubstantially the position in which it is shown in Fig. 2. It will beunderstood, of course, that as soon as the pin clears the rear end ofthe cam the resiliency of the leg A causes it to at once spring backinto its normal position, whereby it presents its lifting edge a andsustaining edge a2 in front of the side of the pin. Now, when the gun isclosed, by grasping the finger or operating'llever by its lower end anddrawing the same rearward and upward, whereby its inner or upper end iscaused t0 be moved forward, the pin will be forced against the curvedlifting edge a of the cam in such a manner as to cause the carrier to hequickly and positively lifted into its extreme elevated position, inwhich it presents the cartridgel borne by it into position to be forcedby the breech-bolt E into the gun-barrel F. This movement of the carriertakes 'place while the pin D' is moving over the curved lifting edge aof the cam; but the carrier is sustained in its elevated position untilthe cartridge has been well entered into the gun-barrel by means of thecoaction of the pin and the `straight sustaining edge a2 of the cam.Then, after the pin passes oif from the straight edge a2 of the cam andreleases thecarrier from the sustaining effect of the lever the carrieris engaged at about the ,point marked a4 in Fig. 10 by the upper edge ofthe hooked link G, which is lifted as the finger or operating lever D isdrawn backward and upward. As soon, therefore, as the pin DAreleases thecarrier, the same is positively thrown down intoits receiving positionin front of the magazine H, as shown in'Fig. l.

It will be seen from the foregoing description that the carrier ispositively raised into its discharging position and maintained there aslong as required by the lpositive action upon it of the iinger oroperating-levervand without the use of or reliance upon anysprings,`whereby reliability of operation is secured. I might, ifpreferred, locate the cam A3 upon the leg A of the carrier and the pinor projection D upon the left-hand side of the operating finger or leverD, and, furthermore, the particular construction of the lever andcarrier may be considerably varied, though the carrier must beconstructed so that it shall have a spring portion for the carriage ofthe cam A3.

Coming now to the second feature of my invention, the same relates tothe primary lifting of the carrier into .position to form acartridge-stop. For this purpose the leg A of the carrier is constructedat its rear end with a depending lug A7, havinga rearwardlyprojectingtoe A8, which at thesproper time takes into an operating-notch H, formedto receive it in the front face of the verticallymovable recoil-block H.When the gun is closed the said toe is entered into the said notch bythe positive throwing of the carrier into its receiving position byvmeans of the engagement of the link with it, as already described. Atthe beginning of the opening of the gun, the recoil-block moves downwardand forceslthe toevA8 of the carrier out of its notch H, whereby thecarrier is swung o n the screws C and C and lifted into the po- IOOsition shown in Fig. 2, where it forms a cartridge-stop, being sustainedin this position by the riding of the point of the toe upon the plainforward face of the recoil-block, as shown in said Fig. 2. It will thusbe seen that this movement ofthe carrier into position to form acartridge-stop is also positive and wholly independent of the action ofsprings. If desired, the notch might be arranged in the carrier and thetoe upon the recoil-block, though I prefer the construction illustrated.In this connection I would say that, while a toe and notch acting asdescribed, for positively lifting the carrier into position to form acartridge-stop, coact well With the cam and pin described for positivelylifting the carrier into its discharging position and sustaining ittherein, I do not limit myself to using these features in combination,for the cam and pin might be combined with other means for lifting thecarrier into position to form a cartridge-stop, and vice versa.

The third feature of my invention relates to the cover or plate whichcloses the bottom of the chamber I of the frame B. In carrying out thispart of my invention I provide the extreme rear end of the cover J withtwo corresponding oppositely-projecting lockinglugs J J which areadapted to be received by shallow substantially horizontallockinggrooves I I', formed opposite each other in the side walls of thechamber I and opening attheir rest ends into the vertical slots I2 I2,formed in the said walls of the chamber at points opposite each otherfor the reception of the edges of the recoil-block I-I. In order tosecure the cover or plate in place it is applied to the bottom of theframe in position for the entering of its locking-lugs into the lowerends of the vertical recoil-block grooves I2 I2, after which the rearend of the plate is pressed inward until the locking-lugsv J J arebrought into line with the rear ends of the locking-grooves I I',afterwhich the plate is moved horizontally forward t-o cause the saidlocking-lugs to enter the said locking-grooves. The rear end of theplate having thus been rmly united with the frame, its forward end issecured thereto by means of a screw J2, which may, if desired, bereplaced by a pin. I prefer to employ two locking-lugs and grooves, asshown and described, although one of each will answer the purpose. Ofcourse the particular construction of the frame and lever may be variedas desired, as the principle which I have described of securing theplate or cover in place is not limited to the construction shown.

It has not seemed to me necessary to describe the general constructionor operation of the arm nor to specify all the parts thereof, as itsoperation and construction will be understood by any one familiar withthe art, and I Will only add that the inner end of the linger-lever isconnected by horizontal pin K with the forward end of the breech-bolt E,and thatthe hooked link G is connected at its hooked forward end by apin K with the finger-lever, the rear end of the link being connected bya pin K2 with the lower tang K3 of the frame. The trigger L is pivotedin the link G and coacts with a sear L', which in turn coacts with thehammer L2, which is furnished with the usual hammer-spring L3.

In view of the foregoing suggestions of changes and alterations and ofothers which may obviously be made, I would have it understood that I donot limit myself to the exact construction herein shown and described,but hold myself at liberty to make such alterations as fairly fallwithin the spirit and scope of my invention.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a breech-loading magazine rearm,

- the combination with a pivotal bifurcated carrier having one of itsmembers or legs adapted to be sprung laterally, and provided at its rearend with a cam, of a finger or operatinglever constructed at its innerend with a projection to co-operate with the said cam in positivelyraising the carrier into its discharging position and sustaining ittherein temporarily when the said lever begins its closing or forwardmovement and cooperates with the said cam in pushing the said memberlaterally to one side at the end of the outward or opening movement ofthe lever for clearing the member and cam from the path of the lever,substantially as set forth. A

2. In a breech-loading magazine lire arm, the combination with apivotal, bifurcated carrier having one of its legs or members adapted tobe sprung laterally and provided with a cam, of a finger or operatinglever constructed at its inner end with a pin or projection coactingwith the said cam in positively lifting the carrier into its dischargingposition and temporarily sustaining it therein, substantially as setforth.

3. In a breech-loading magazine fire arm, the combination with a carrierhaving a spring leg or member constructed with a cam having a beveledforward edge and also having a curved lifting and a straight sustainingedge; of a finger or operating lever, the inner end of which isconstructed with a pin or projection coacting with the beveled edge ofthe cam to spring the same aside for the rearward passage of the pin,and coacting with the curved and straight edges of the cam for liftingthe carrier into its discharging position and sustaining it thereintemporarily, substantially as set forth.

4. In a breech-loading magazine fire-arm, the combination with a pivotalbifurcated carrier having one of its legs adapted to swing laterally,provided with a cam, and constructed with an elongated pivot-opening andhaving its other leg also constructed with a correspondingly locatedpivot-opening, of a finger or operating lever constructed at its innerend with a pin or projection to coact with the said cam, and twoscrewpivots re IOO IIO

spectively located inthe opposite walls of the frame of the arm, andentering the pivot-openings in the respective ends of the legs ormembers of the carrier for supporting the same pivotally within the saidframe, substantially as described, and whereby the elongatedpivot-opening permits the elongated leg or head'of the carrier to besprung laterally.

5. In a breech-loading magazine fire-arm, the combination with a pivotalcarrier, of a vertically movable recoil block, one of the said partshaving an operating notch and the' other a toe adapted to enter thenotch whenv the block is in its closed position, whereby the block inthe beginning of its downward movement is caused to lift the carrierintov position to form a cartridge-stop, substantially as set forth.

GQInwa breech-loading magazinev fire arm, thev combination with acarrier, constructed at its rear end with a toe, of a vertically movablerecoil-block, having an operating notch formed in its forward face toreceive the said toe in position to effect the lifting of the carrierinto position to form a cartridge stop at the beginning'of the downwardmovement of the recoil-block, substantially as set forth.

7. In a breech-loading magazine fire arm, the combination with achambered frame, having recoil-block grooves formed in the innerfaces-of its side walls and locking grooves leading forward out of thelower ends of the recoil-block grooves; of a cover or plate adapted toclose the bottom of the chamber in the frame, and constructed at itsrear end with lugs adapted to enter the said lockingr grooves, intowhich they are introduced through the clearance afforded bytherecoil-block grooves, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed this specification in the presence oftwo subscribing witnesses.

JOHN M. BROWNING.

Vitnesses:

JOHN E. RAMSDEN, KATE LINEHAN.

